USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin’s series Kids in Crisis should open a few eyes. I believe that a couple of factors have a major influence on the frequency and severity of mental health issues among youth.

First is the pressure to succeed. We all want this for our children, but increasingly, kids are getting the message that a college education is the only path to a comfortable middle-class life. (Unfortunately, the loss of lower-skilled jobs and wage stagnation among those that are left gives this more than a grain of truth. For children without the means to attend college, the future can seem bleak.)

Harvard, Yale and 49 other colleges just released a report called Turning the Tide that seeks to reverse the trend that has turned adolescence into a race to add to a “brag list” of AP courses, extracurriculars and volunteer activities. Let’s hope the idea catches on and students get a chance to lead more balanced lives.

The second factor in this crisis is the way politicians have systematically degraded what was once one of Wisconsin’s crown jewels — public education. Reduced funding combined with an obsession for standardized testing has created a system where every student, school and district is rated and ranked.

Student and school ratings correlate with socioeconomic status, yet when the scores are published, it creates tremendous pressure to bring them up by whatever means possible. The misguided solution always seems to be to spend more resources on testing at the expense of all else.

Kids would be happier and healthier with more arts instruction, more recess, more co-curriculars, more counselors, more psychologists and smaller classes, but these are the first things lost as budgets shrink and standardized testing looms larger.

The forces that want to starve public education have done enough damage. Our children deserve better.